Flight of Steel
by hubbabubbagump
Summary: "Go and destroy the Grail," they said. "It might be dangerous, but nothing funny will happen." They lied. Of course, how were they going to expect that hunting down All the World's Evils would lead to a new world of dragons and devils?


I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD.

**Chapter 1**

Rias sat in front of the desk in the Occult Research Club. Each member of her peerage was present, and were engaged in conversation with each other. She had faith in every member in the room, yet could not wondering if it was really enough. Her eyes glanced at each member of her peerage, briefly stopping on each person before moving onto the next.

Yuuto Kiba, her Knight, was a young man with blonde hair, wielder of the Sacred Gear Sword Birth. Not only was he was skilled with swords, Kiba was also fast – a perfect fit as a Knight. He was adored by the female population at Kuoh Academy, earning him the nickname of "The Prince of Kuoh Academy."

Toujou Koneko was a small girl with white hair and hazel eyes, wearing a small black cat-shaped clip on both sides of her hair. Although she was petite in appearance, she was her Rook, and was deceptively strong and resilient.

Her closest friend, Himejima Akeno was one of her closest friends, as they knew each other from a young age. Akeno had eventually become her Queen and first peerage member. Although she wore a smile, it had turned predatory many times. In fact, Rias would go as far as to call her "The Ultimate Sadist."

Off to the side, the red haired devil spotted Hyoudou Issei and Asia Argento, chatting with each other in a corner. Rias had recruited both of them to her peerage recently as the result of an incident with a small group of fallen angels. She had resurrected Issei one night in a park after he was killed by one of the fallen angels, reviving him at the cost of 8 pawn pieces. The brown haired boy was the wielder of the Boosted Gear, one of the 13 Longinus, and was infamous for being a huge pervert. Asia was her Bishop, and possessed a Sacred Gear called Twilight Healing.

Yet Rias could not stop herself from biting her lower lip, wondering if this really was enough. She knew Riser was coming within a few days, and her only possible way to break off the prearranged marriage would be to beat him in a Rating Game. However, unlike her, he was a veteran, and was a favorite to win in the upcoming Youth Rating Game Tournament. Riser was also a member of the Phenex Clan, inheriting the powers of the immortal bird, granting him immortality and instant regeneration. Upon seeing that he could not be killed or permanently damage, many of his opponents had simply given up at the start. On top of that, one of her Bishops was sealed away – his lack of control over the Sacred Gear deemed insufficient and dangerous. Her fists unconsciously clenched at the thought of the Phenex; she hated him with every fibre of her being.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rias saw Akeno walk over, her long black hair tied in a ponytail waving back and forth in the process, as she must of seen her drifting off in her thoughts.

"Ara, is there anything wrong, Buchou?" Akeno asked with a hint of worry.

Rias let a small smile form on her face. Her childhood friend was always a perceptive person.

"It's nothing," she said, waving her hand in an attempt to dismiss any concern which may have been brought up. "I was just thinking about a few things."

"If it's about Issei," the sadist replied, "you don't need to worry too much about his contracts. On the surveys, all the people who summoned him gave him positive replies, stating various things like they had fun, or they had a good time. Although he may have failed as a devil, everyone loved him."

Rias smiled briefly, allowing her thoughts to swing to Issei for a moment. Despite all the times he had been summoned, he had not once formed a contract with anyone, with the exception of the time when she had gone with him. For a moment, she wondered if he would lose confidence as he kept failing, but quickly discarded the idea. Issei was one of the most stubborn people she knew, trying as hard as he could to reach his goal. Interestingly enough, his current objective was to become a Harem King.

Rias had to admit, it would be an interesting sight – the Sekiryuutei standing at the top of the devil world with the moniker "Red Harem Emperor."

"I suppose that's how-" she began, but was suddenly cut off as a large surge of energy washed over everyone in the room. As devils, they were inherently sensitive to magic. So it was of no surprise that when such a large amount of energy abruptly came into existence, that many of them gasped in surprise.

It was powerful, extremely so, yet Rias could not identify which faction it came from. It did not feel like the magic used by the Angels and Fallen Angels, and it was not the demonic energy which devils utilized. Instead, it felt foreign, with parts of it feeling dark and evil, making her shudder.

"W-What's this?" Issei managed to gasp out. Truthfully, the red haired King didn't know. In fact, she would not be surprised if no one in the room knew either, if the pause that followed the brunet's question was of any indication.

"It's coming from the school fields." Akeno quickly deduced, as she was the most magically sensitive. "What should we do, Buchou?"

Rias paused for a moment, thinking rapidly. There was a magical event of an unknown sort that was occurring on devil territory. It then came down to her, and to Sona, to deal with with any trouble that arose in the area. However, the energy being emanated was powerful enough to make her feel hesitant. Of course, she could ask her brother Sirzechs, the current Lucifer to help-

No. The crimson haired devil considered that option for a moment, and refused it. She had left the Underworld to become independent. If she asked her family for help whenever a problem arose, it would be no different than if she was living with them.

"We'll go and find out what's causing this energy spike." Rias answered firmly. "And if it's a threat, we'll deal with it."

There was a brief acknowledgement of assent for the plan, before they left the the old school building in search of the energy source.

"Issei," Asia quietly asked, holding onto his sleeve, "what do you think it is?"

"Fufu, there's only one thing it can be!" He responded confidently. His expression begins to transform into a perverted one. Rias shook her head – only he would indulge in his fantasies in a time like this.

"You see Asia," he continued on, "whenever there's a mystery event, it always happens to be one thing." The nun nods her head in understanding, while the brunet begins to drool. "The only thing it can be is...a beautiful woman! And with an energy this powerful, she must have large oppai!"

The group fell silent for a moment while they walked.

"Pervert." Came the curt reply from Koneko, while the other members either began to laugh or shake their head.

"What? It's always true in the games I play!" Issei retorted, pushing the ideals of his eroge onto reality.

It did not take long for them to arrive at the edge of the school field. To Rias' surprise, they found that Sona, the heir of the Sitri Clan, and the rest of her peerage had already arrived, standing at the edge of the area.

"Sona!" Rias shouted, waving her hands to grab their attention. She frowned when they did not respond nor acknowledge her presence. Instead, they seemed to be standing still, their faces with shock and disbelief pasted on their faces.

The crimson devil quickly walked up to her longtime rival and shook her. Sona's black hair whipped around as her eyes snapped to Rias', violet eyes meeting blue. The Sitri Heir's expression quickly switched from one of disbelief to one that spoke of a prim and collected person, with a no-nonsense face. It was the false exterior that she commonly wore, unless someone broke her out of it.

"Sona. What's wrong?" The crimson devil spoke slowly.

"What's wrong?" Sona repeated while briefly adjusting her glasses. She then pointing up into the sky, in the direction that the rest of her peerage stared. "That is what's wrong."

Rias and the rest of her peerage turned their sights to where Sona was pointing. At first, they didn't see anything, and then their expressions changed, matching those of the Sitri's peerage.

There was a small crack, impossibly suspended in the air. It was as if the sky was made of fragile glass and someone had decided to lightly hit it, producing a crack. They did not need to say anything, as their silence was all that was needed to convey the shock that ran between them.

A soft sound then rang out, reaching the ears of all that were present. It then came again, and again, and again, growing louder each time. Before long, loud clinks began to resonate in the air, originating from the crack in the sky. Their eyes of all that were present then widened as they saw that with each sound, the crack began to expand in size. It quickly grew in size, hairline fractures branching out from larger fissures, until it reached of the tennis court.

The sounds abruptly stopped, the aberration in the sky no longer growing in size. Everyone held their breaths, as if awaiting the arrival of something spectacular. Seconds ticked by as nothing happens. Slowly, the tension in the air slowly began to die out. To her side, Rias heard someone snort loudly. She turned her head to the side, identifying the perpetrator as Sona's Pawn, Saji.

"We came out here for nothing! Nothing happened! Nothing at all!" His feet began to stomp on the ground as if he was a child throwing a tantrum. "Is this-"

Everyone expected him to finish the sentence "Is this it?" before he was suddenly cut off. They were not expecting the crack to suddenly shatter, revealing a hole which lead to an empty void. Any further words were cut off as a blur – colored red and black – suddenly flew through the hole, before landing on the field. It did not stop there, as it continued to tumble back at high speeds, before disappearing into the woods, leaving only a trail of fallen trees and dust in its wake.

Not a moment later, something else jumped through the void in the sky, landing on the ground with a loud thud. Not one of them knew what it was, as it looked like a creature not belonging to this world. It looked as if it were made of shadows, born in the void that existed on the other side of the hole. It held a figure that resembled a human, with slits on its face revealing red eyes that seemed to glow and pulse. Darkness wrapped around its figure, forming claws of darkness on its hands which held a black sword. The sword seemed as if it was corrupted; the red markings engraved on it were reminiscent of the creature's eyes, and the blade itself seemed dark enough to absorb light. The entire figure seemed to be wrapped in a sort of black mist that came from its body, following the shadow as it stepped in the direction that the blur had landed.

It must of noticed them, as it turned its head briefly in their direction before glaring at them with a piercing gaze. Rias held her breath, unable to breathe, as its gaze seemed to evaluate them – seeing if they were a threat. As it did so, the hole above it began to repair itself, correcting an anomaly that existed within the world. The shards that had shattered simply rose slowly, silently affixing themselves to their proper place.

After what seemed like minutes, but was in fact only seconds, the creature looked away with a scoff, as if telling them they were no better than insects. Once its gaze left her, she found herself once more able to inhale and exhale. Her peerage, as well as Sona's, seemed to have suffered the same effects as some were breathing heavily, their skins pale with fright.

A loud explosion suddenly caught their attention, as a red beam shrieked in the air, flying at the figure with terrifying speed. The crimson devil could tell that the amount of energy within the projectile was not small. The amount of energy rolled off the beam in waves, her instincts screaming that the object was dangerous. Dangerous enough to take down a mountain.

As she watched the beam of red light, she was surprised when the shadow side-stepped it with ease, treating it as if it did not even register as a threat. It was then to her shock – and the figure's – when the projectile suddenly began travelling in the opposite direction, its aim seemingly locked onto the figure.

It let out a screeching roar as it turned around faster than humanely possible and slashed at the missile with its sword. When projectile and sword met, the two seemed to pause for an instant, the clash releasing bright sparks and buffeting winds. Then there was a large explosion, releasing a flash of light comparable to a sun, pounding Rias with a wall of wind as she covered her eyes.

When the red head once again looked at the field, all she could see was a crater, with a cloud of dust preventing her from seeing within. She then noticed movement at the edge of the woods, then watched at the shooter of the missile came into view, revealing the identity of the red and black blur that had sped by.

Rias was shocked when a young girl who looked no older than 12 stepped onto the field. She wore black body armor, adorned with silver linings, made of an unknown material. Her pants, matching the body armor, had straps wound around it. Her feet moved deftly and soundlessly, even as she wore black steel-toed combat boots. A red coat, split into two sections, covered her. The first part wrapped around her arms, connecting on her back, and tied together at the front by a silver rope. The second part was wrapped around her waist, hanging loosely like a trench coat. Her silver hair, bound in a waist length braid, and red eyes looked foreign and exotic, her gaze fixed on the dissipating cloud of dust. In her hands were two blades which seemed to be of oriental origin; one shone with a pure white and the other with an ebony covered in red hexagonal pattern.

Off to the side, Rias could hear Issei and Saji muttering words under their breaths. The only words she could make out were "loli" and "moe", earning them glares from the girls around them.

The sound of a rock tumbling brought Rias' attention back to the dust cloud which was now gone, revealing the black figure as she had seen it before, but not without wounds. She could see cuts and scratches on the black figure's body, and it did not seem happy.

"Tch," the silver haired girl clicked her tongue in annoyance, her voice high and juvenile, "I had hoped that was enough."

"**Fool,"** The shadow growled, speaking for the first time. Its eyes narrowed, adding onto the hatred that was already present in the creature's voice. **"You are merely a mortal, first attempting to purge me from your realm, and then chasing me through the void."** It lifted its sword up, pointing the black blade which seemed to seethe with anger at the small girl.

"**You will pay for this,"** it snarled, **"And nothing will be left behind for me to curse." **

"If I were to die so easily," Rias watched as the girl tightened her grip on the weapons as she shot back a retort, "Then I wouldn't be standing here. Although," she continued, with a smirk on her face, "I have a history of not dying when killed."

Neither figure said anymore as they watched each other. The silence was long and unbearable as they both stood still, not moving an inch. Both peerages could feel the tension in the air, as if it was palpable. As Rias stared intently, not closing her eyes for one, two then three seconds. Unable the fight the urge, she blinked, her eyes unable to stay open any longer. When her eyes opened, she found that the two were gone, as if they had teleported away.

The red devil's eyes then caught a blur of motion, realizing that they in fact had not disappeared, but were charging at high speeds at one another. In an instant, the two were next to each other, the blades in their hands becoming blurs as they were swung.

And then the two clashed, a screech singing out as steel clashed on steel.

**oXo**

The moment our weapons touched, I could tell. Judging by the sneer Angra Mainyu wore, it knew as well. It was stronger than me. Faster than me, even when reinforced to the limit. Yet this was a battle I simply could not lose.

Instinctively, I found myself using the style Archer had used and perfected over countless battles. Technically, if I was using using techniques from my future self, that wouldn't be stealing, as you can't plagiarize yourself. Would it?

It was a suicidal style – Saber had told me so. I left openings in my stance, allowing the opponent to strike at my vitals-

Spotting the blade, strangely reminiscent of Saber Alter, striking towards my neck, I quickly moved Bakuya to intercept the strike, then followed up with a slash from Kanshou in a smooth motion.

\- and blocking it, then striking back with the other sword. Yet it allowed Archer, and now me, to fight enemies stronger and faster than us. We had no care for our lives as we were both swords; tools to fight once unsheathed.

Our blades clashed again and again, one, ten, a hundred. The sound of steel endlessly rang in the air as the two of us danced about the field. My blades had broken multiple times, yet I had simply remade them and kept on fighting. Ignoring the pain from numerous small cuts, I simply pushed on with grim determination.

The shadow then stabbed its blade at me, growling in seeming frustration. Instead of parrying it, I leaped back as the sword collided with my twin swords, pushing me back and separating us.

Soaring backwards, I threw Kanshou and Bakuya at the swordsman. It dodged to the side with a hateful glare, before attempting to pursue me. In order to hinder it, I traced a pair of nameless swords and then pumped prana into them, causing hairline fractures to appear along their lengths. Like before, I threw them at the shadow, forcing it to stop and deflect the two blades to the side where they exploded harmlessly.

"**Brat!"** Landing on the ground, I heard the black figure bellow in rage, before charging once again at me.

Instead of charging back as well, I simply stood there waiting for my opponent to come to me, traces of blood staining my clothes.

My mind quickly scanned through the library of weapons, attempting to find a more suitable weapon than what I was using now. Gram? Durandal? No, I discarded the blueprint and pulled up another one. There was a small feeling in the back of my mind that even if I riddled the being full of holes, it would simply rise and shrug the wounds off before continuing with its attack. Perhaps this small feeling came from the fact that the shadow no longer bore any injuries from the explosion. In order to defeat it, I would have to obliterate it completely – erase its existence from the world.

Angra Mainyu would most likely engage in close-ranged fighting, preventing me from firing a full powered Caladbolg lest endangering myself as well.

In order to destroy it, I would most likely require the most powerful Noble Phantasm in my armory – Excalibur. I could not project the blade outside of Unlimited Blade Works though, as it was a divine construct. Though it was inferior to the Sword of Promised Victory, Caliburn would suffice. However, I could not fire it at a range unless it was immobilized, as Angra Mainyu would simply dodge to the side or interrupt the activation, so it made sense that I would reveal the blade at the last moment instead of using it right away.

In this time, the black figure had already crossed the distance, and was already on top of me, sword raised high for a vertical slash. Tracing the twin blades, I brought Bakuya up to meet the blade at an angle, letting it slide off. As I slashed forwards with Kanshou, the black swordsman had already brought its blade back, prepared to defend.

Despite my repeated attempts at wounding it, I once again realized that Angra Mainyu was fast, incredibly so. I do admit that I felt a slight tinge of envy towards its physical capabilities. Probably because I'm currently on the receiving end. Its speed and power could probably match Saber, and maybe more. There was only one way that I would be able to kill it. No, not just being able to kill it, the only way to deal a clean blow.

Many beings react slowly to surprises after all.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a kick that caught me in the chest, sending me flying into the air. Once again, I happened to fly into the forest, a tree breaking my fall as I flew into it with enough force that it splintered, allowing me to land on the trunk of another tree, this one stopping my fall at the cost of falling over. Knowing the shadow would be pursuing me even now, I sat up from the human shaped indentation, only to greet metal soaring towards my head.

I threw myself to the right as fast as possible, watching the blade cut strands of my hair as it passed by where my head had been. A sharp pain erupted from my shoulder, a deep cut appearing as the sword slid through it.

Better to weather through a wound than to take a pointy object in the face after all.

A wire frame briefly blinked into existence, before another pair of the married blades were brought into my hands with a flash of golden light. I ignored to wound on my shoulder, a pause due to pain would ultimately result in my death.

Instead, I bared my blades at the shadow once more as it did the same to me, our swords hissing as they slid through the air. The sharp sound of steel on steel rang out endlessly as they impacted against each other over and over again.

As the onslaught continued, neither I nor the black swordsman backed down. My hands grew numb and my breath ragged as we danced among the trees, the jet black blade seeking to end my life with fierce determination and savage swings. Countless cuts were carved onto my body as flashes of steel were barely deflected by my swords.

My concentration, on the other hand, never once wavered; my eyes sticking to the sword, my opponent, and my surroundings.

It was then it had made a mistake – Angra Mainyu grew impatient and overextended its swing, and I took full advantage of it. Against its expectations, I charged into it, Bakuya beginning its swing upwards.

Snarling, it jumped backwards, so that my blade would miss it by inches. Anticipating this, I grinned. As the sword had begun its ascent, I had flooded the blade with prana, reinforcing them to their limits. As I did so, it cracked and twisted, extending to twice its original length. The blade was now covered in splinters from the ridge to edge, giving the appearance of a brilliant white wing.

The shadow's eyes, previously narrowed in anger, widened in surprise as it attempted to bring its sword back to block. It did not move fast enough though, as the blade tore through its sword arm.

A vicious mouth opened on Angra Mainyu's face, releasing a howl that was more similar to a cacophony of sound rather than a scream. It evoked memories of the giant mass of destruction Berserker who instilled fear in people merely by existing. Ah, the good old days.

The hand was still attached to the arm by a thin strand, but the sword that it had held fell to the ground. It stumbled backwards, clutching the injured wrist with the other arm.

"I am the bone of my sword." I muttered, strengthening my projections.

A red spear burst into my hands, filling the area with blood lust. In one fluid motion, I spun the spear into a stance I had seen Lancer take before. As I did so, I couldn't help but notice that the prana cost for tracing the spear had decreased, and the quality of the fake had risen in rank to rival the original. Even Archer was unable to project Noble Phantasms on par with the original, so there was likely an external force at work.

The blood lust in the area suddenly intensified; the thirst for blood had previously dripped slowly, and now it had grown magnitudes greater, flooding the area with a desire to drink. My knees were slightly bent, the head of spear facing the ground with the shaft at an angle. The front of the red spear had begun to emanate steam, as if it was displaying its anticipation for blood.

"Gae-"

The spear began moving forward, the head of the spear seeking its prey. The shadow had backpedalled at the sight of the ominous spear, only to find the trunk of a tree blocking its way. It was a useless attempt as the cursed spear would seek the heart of the foe without fail. Snarling, it attempted to throw itself to the side-

"Bolg!"

The spear bent, flashing towards the heart of the figure at a speed faster than a bullet. Reversing causality, it pierced the chest of the shadow, no doubt puncturing its heart in the process, before erupting from the other side of the body.

Yet the creature had still lived, impaled through the heart by the cursed spear. I was not surprised, as the shadow had never been human.

Without pause, I reached into the armory that was Unlimited Blade Works. My hands prepared to wield a sword that had yet come into existence. I found the sword that I was looking for – the sword that would assuredly bring me victory.

"Trace on."

A ornate sword of blue and gold formed in my hands as I raised it up, flaring with light as I fed it prana.

I held the blade above my head, tip aimed at the sky above. It transformed into a towering sword of light, illuminating the area around me like a miniature sun, as I gave it nearly every last drop of prana within me.

For the first time, the shadow showed signs of fear, having seen a similar blade more than once before. It squirmed in an attempt to escape, yet found it could not move. Gae Bolg had buried itself within its chest, nailing it to the tree that stood behind it. Crying out in rage, it clumsily attempted to remove itself from the binding which crucified it.

As it struggled, I gripped the Golden Sword of the Victorious tightly, bringing it down in a overhead swing. In one last act of defiance, the beast screeched loudly, shaking the air around it and drowning out all words spoken. But it did not matter, my mouth already forming the name of the blade.

A bright light exploded from the sword, engulfing and consuming Angra Mainyu, and then continuing its charge into the woods.

I stood there for a moment, the golden sword fading away into motes of light. There was nothing left of the shadow, a ditch of destroyed earth which extended forwards for hundreds of meters existing in its place. The ground bubbled and hissed as it cooled from its superheated state.

The only feeling left in me was a sense of elation, as All the World's Evils no longer existed.

I had won, most likely saving many in the process.

There would be no repeat of the Fuyuki fire, hundreds would not die burning and screaming. Instead, the grail would return to its untainted state, and would hopefully be taken apart, preventing further Grail Wars from harming the innocents.

As the high from the battle wore off, I could feel the fatigue envelop my battered body. It was while the adrenaline slowly dissipated that I heard a group of people slowly making their way to my location. I groaned inwardly. I didn't want more work to do in the form of hiding the secret of magic from the world.

Suddenly, a sharp pain gripped my entire body, my knees falling to the ground. Short gasps escaped from my throat as I realized the cause.

This must be the famous death from prana starvation.

Archer's arm assimilating into my body must of given me a body similar in nature to that of a Heroic Spirit so that it would no longer continue consuming my soul and destroying my body. Unfortunately, I did not gain the absurd physical abilities of a Servant. And like the idiot that Rin had always called me, I had used all my prana on my final attack.

At least I now had firsthand experience on why Servants did not enjoy running out of prana.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could now see the group of people that had been making their way towards me. Spearheading the group of people were two girls in school uniforms. One had brilliant crimson red hair hanging down to her waist, and the other with black shoulder length hair, finished with glasses. I cringed slightly at the sight of their uniforms – who in the right mind would design flashy uniforms like those, much less wear them? And the skirt. I shuddered looking at the skirt. I already found myself missing the Homurahara Academy uniform.

As they drew closer, a strange smell, one of soil and smoke entered my nose. Unlike what I first thought, they were not human, but supernatural entities. If they turned out to be hostile, only Archer's E-ranked luck could be to blame. In fact, I was already prepared to place the blame on him regardless.

On the bright side, I wouldn't have to hypnotize them.

Noticing my condition, the red head had rushed over to my side, her face showing concern. I was slightly relieved that they, whatever they were, seemed to be of a friendly nature.

"_?"

I could see her mouth moving as she uselessly attempted to communicate with me, but I was too busy coping with the pain which racked my body to decipher the words that came out of her mouth. However, I could feel the sheer amount of energy that she emanated – it simply rolled of her, and she made no attempt to hide it.

As I formulated a survival plan, my mind brought up memories of one of Rin's special lectures, conducted just for me.

_Rin had one arm laying parallel with the ground and across her body, the elbow of the other arm resting in the first's palm. The second arm was currently pointed upwards, tapping on a blackboard with a stick._

_At the moment, I was amused with the various positions she could adopt while teaching. She had struck a variety of poses while instructing me, and I had made it my goal to name each and every pose. This one happened to be Tohsaka Lecture Pose Number 3. At the moment, I had identified 4 unique poses._

"_Emiya," she said, causing me to look up at her. She had a large – and very fake – smile plastered on her face which made me fear for my life, "are you listening?"_

"_Yes!" I sat up straight, not wanting to bear the brunt of her wrath. I had learned – the hard way – that it was not wise to cause the ire of the jewel magus._

"_Sometimes I don't understand why I bother teaching you." Rin sighed, massaging her head. "Anyways, as I was saying, Od is the magical energy found within living organisms like humans and animals. If we deplete it, the Magic Circuits that are located in our souls will replenish it. Magic power tends to merge with fluids of our body, such as saliva, blood and..." She paused for a moment, her face flushing red as she muttered a word I could not hear. "Anyways," She coughed, the red tinge still visible, "If a Servant happens to be low on prana, they can replenish themselves by consuming souls or by consuming these fluids."_

I decided that if I ever met Rin again I would buy her a large shiny jewel, and perhaps cook her a feast while I was at it.

With great willpower, I managed to raise a hand, and attempted to wave the crimson haired girl closer. What occurred in reality was that my hand flopped around back and forth weakly, producing a confused expression to form on the girl's face. Thankfully she understood the message, and brought her head closer to mine.

However, she brought her ear closer to my mouth, as if listening to a dying man's last will. My eye twitched slightly. Did she think I was going to keel over and die? Well, I was dying, but I had no plans to do so, of course.

After a few seconds passed, the girl turned her face to meet mine, another confused expression on her face as she no longer knew what I wanted. As she did so, I saw my chance come, her lips swinging close to mine. I gathered all the remaining strength in my body, leaping forward so that our mouths would contact each other.

Her eyes widened as I moved, and she attempted to move back. Fortunately for me, she was slow to do so, and as our lips collided, I forced my tongue into her mouth. The girl froze, shocked at the situation that had befallen her. Behind the crimson haired girl, I could see the expressions of two boys, one with brown hair and the other blonde, lighting up as if they were children who had received a present from Santa. A girl in the group with long black hair tied in a ponytail, was assessing the sight before her with an amused expression. The others had frozen, their eyes blank, and head tilted in a confused smile, not fully comprehending the situation in front of them.

I personally didn't really care, as I could feel the soothing sensation of energy being transferred to me, my body no longer fading away or burning in pain due to prana starvation. Out of danger, my body finally relaxed as exhaustion began to blacken my vision.

"Thanks," I managed to croak out as I broke away from the red girl, giving a wry smile.

My sight turned dark, accepting the sleep that had slowly embraced me.


End file.
